What If Sarah Palin Were Black?

[Fumesucker]

http://wearerespectablenegroes.blogspot.com/2010/02/object-lesson-in-white-privilege-what.html

<snip>

If Sarah Palin were black, her daughter's out of wedlock, "baby daddy drama" would have been presented as an example of both pathological behavior and a dysfunctional family that is symbolic of the social problems in that community. If Sarah Palin were black, never would the poor decision making by the Palin family be marked off as challenges overcome, or deeds to be valorized.

If Sarah Palin were black, her neo-secessionist husband would have been the death knell for her political career, because as we all know you can't trust "those people."

If Sarah Palin were black, her lack of intellectual curiosity, willful and cultivated ignorance, and lack of grace both written and spoken, would not be taken as "folksy." Instead, Palin would be viewed as unqualified for any public office.

If Sarah Palin were black she would be tarred and feathered as an "affirmative action baby."

<more at the link>

[11 Bravo]

1. She would still be an inarticulate, stupid, annoying, narcissistic grifter?

[meegbear]

4. and black.

[calimary]

22. I'd still find her rather vile.

[justiceischeap]

2. She'd be exactly who she is now but with a better tan

But I get the posts' point. If she were black, we would have never heard of her. Which says a lot about our racial relations in the US.

[closeupready]

3. You know, she lost the Miss Alaska title to a (stunning) African-American contestant.

So musing about this scenario is thought-provoking.

[uppityperson]

5. Man are assertive, women are B*s. "Ism"s are interesting.

[emilyg]

21. You got it.

[JuniperLea]

6. She's not going to go away until we all stop talking about her...

I think we're long overdue in the silence area.

[Fumesucker]

10. It's not *us* talking about Palin that's keeping her in the eye of the M$M..

It's because she's pushing memes that those who own the M$M wish to see introduced into the public consciousness.

[RZM]

11. Or . . .

Perhaps those in the media know that 'us' are those that consume their products. Perhaps they are just giving people what they want? Palin occupies a gray area between politics and celebrity -- those two types of people occupy a lot of column inches and airtime across the media spectrum.

[Fumesucker]

15. I'm one "us" that doesn't even own a TV..

I'm not a consumer of the M$M at all, no newspapers, no radio, no TV.

[RZM]

24. Ok, but

There are plenty more people who do consume the news. And I do find it a bit odd that you're characterizing in industry that you claim to never interact with at all.

[Fumesucker]

28. It's impossible to live a relatively normal life in the USA and not see any TV..

I see it when I go to the home of friends or family or even out shopping, practically everyone it seems has the TV on virtually all the time.

[tavalon]

42. I must just self select for people who share my disdain for the broadcast feed

I can't think of a single friend I have who has cable. Many of us subscribe to Netflix.

[JuniperLea]

18. We all share in the frothy hype...

Every mention of her name gives her another InterTube hit. The media will never let go of someone who is being discussed at this length.

[Robyn66]

7. She would still be a vapid, distructive harpee (nt)

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. Who?

I've never heard of her.

[Iggo]

9. I get the feeling she wouldn't have been Mayor of Wasilla.

[Monsoon]

12. And if the Queen had balls she'd be the King.

n/t

[WinkyDink]

13. Pigs. Wings. Fly.

[wilt the stilt]

14. The media would treat her like Alvin Greene (SC) n/t

[ehrnst]

16. If she was black, the GOP wouldn't have even looked at her as a VP nominee. (nt)

[Fumesucker]

17. For all the reasons I listed in my OP..

Plus a bunch more.

Imagine a radical black person talking about "second amendment remedies"..

[FiveGoodMen]

19. We would never have heard of her.

[young_at_heart]

20. Would John McCain still be proud of her?

I lost track of how many times I heard McCain say, "I'm so proud of her". I wonder if he still feels proud?

[newtothegame]

23. How does this racist shit stay up on DY, and get reccs no less?

:shrug:

ed for sp

[Fumesucker]

29. It's racist to acknowledge that people of different skin colors are treated differently?

I don't see it that way, if we do not admit that a disparity in treatment exists then how can such disparities ever be addressed?

[newtothegame]

34. You're not acknowledging anything, you're hypothesizing. And doing so in an ignorant manner.

Playing the race card only creates anger and resentment in white folks towards us. It doesn't actually accomplish anything.

Trust me, I've experienced it for years. Do you know how it feels to get a job because you were out-and-out the better candidate, and then to have everyone assume you got it because of some bullshit affirmative action program? A nightmare.

[EFerrari]

30. Pointing out the double standard is not racism

it's a response to racism.

[newtothegame]

35. I disagree. See post #34. nt

[EFerrari]

37. #34 illustrates the double standard, it doesn't refute it. n/t

[Kweli4Real]

38. Please help me understand ...

as I am new to this whole defining what is and what isn't racist thing ... I've only been Black and subjected to racism my whole life.

How is making note of disparate treatment, even through "what if" games, racist?

Do you really what to stake out the position that if sarah palin where Black, she would be treated the same?

Well let me spell it out for you ...

Here, in DU, we see a stupid and/or ignorant self-absorbed dolt of a woman. Right?

But if sarah were Black, everyone (even here) we would see a BLACK stupid and/or ignorant self-absorbed dolt of a woman.

Got it?

[KamaAina]

25. She'd be Michael Steele?

:shrug:

[Laelth]

26. k&r for the truth, however depressing. n/t

-Laelth

[RZM]

27. Who would be making these arguments though?

If a black Sarah Palin held the same beliefs, certainly the right wouldn't be saying these things. What you would see would be racial arguments on both sides, with some on the left calling her a sellout and the right accusing the left of racism against black Republicans. We already see this today with prominent African-American Republicans, small in number though they are.

Would she have been tapped for vice? Given that Michael Steele was elevated to a top position in part as a response to Obama, it certainly wouldn't have been out of the question.

[EFerrari]

31. The right wouldn't be saying these things, they'd be tapping someone else

who is well spoken, educated and successful.

[RZM]

32. Like who, the real Sarah Palin?

She may be successful, but not particularly educated or well-spoken.

[EFerrari]

33. If the right wanted to bring in a black candidate,

they'd tap someone like Colin Powell or Condi Rice, both of whom were floated for Bush's second run. They are corrupt soulless war criminals but they are educated, well spoken and successful.

[Lucian]

36. She wouldn't be popular.

The only reason she's so popular is because she's physically attractive, and white. How many teabaggers would support an African-American woman with there values?

[MellowDem]

39. Erm...

Sarah Palin has indeed been presented as heading a dysfunctional "redneck" family, with her race being highlighted to reemphasize steryotypes about poor whites on this site from time to time.

Nobody cares about Todd.

Sarah's ignorance is seen as ignorance by the vast majority of Americans. Only those who identify with her feel otherwise. Ignorant celebrities/politicians of all races are often respected by a portion of their own race for identification purposes, not because of smarts. That's what identity politics does for you.

Sarah Palin is considered unqualified for public office by the vast majority of the nation.

Sarah Palin is already ridiculed for the five different colleges she went to.

If Sarah Palin were black, and that was all that was different, you'd still have quite a chunk of tea partiers behind her, not to mention all the extremely conservative blacks who want a black conservative to lead them (all two of them).

I have no doubt that the majority of teapartiers, bigoted or otherwise, can and will embrace a minority candidate if they're freakily conservative and hateful enough. And Sarah Palin is both.

In all honesty, if Sarah Palin were black, Republican leaders would eat it up and use it as an example that they are a party for minorities.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

40. Then her name would be Allen West.

[Pancho Sanza]

41. Half of DUers would be calling the other half 'racists'...

:shrug:

on edit...now that I've read the whole set of posts, I see that's the case anyway...
glurp